{"id":12454,"date":"2026-05-04T16:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/?p=12454"},"modified":"2026-05-06T16:35:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:35:56","slug":"whats-on-the-top-of-your-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/whats-on-the-top-of-your-list\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s on the Top of Your List?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the semester drew to a close and I watched as senioritis, which has been incubating for weeks, manifested itself full-blown, I listened in as students around me discussed a calculation that goes something like this: \u201cDo I spend all of my time preparing for finals and polishing the last papers to a glorious shine, or do I leave well enough alone, contenting myself with what is good enough in order to take that time and spend it with the friends from whom I will soon be separated?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequently, the debate, as it played out, involved some calculation of the relative usefulness of optimal grades. Students with guaranteed first jobs or grad school offers presumably have less need for stellar last-semester grades than those who must still sell themselves to employers. And so it’s imagined that they are free here to redirect their focus towards precious friendships. We should note here that \u201cprecious\u201d has become a term of relative value. Following the logic of the calculation, these relationships are of secondary value to a solid career plan. Having a job in the bag frees us to take the time. It\u2019s probably more complex than this, but that’s often the way we talk \u2013 at least in jest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realize that even as we make these calculations, we aren\u2019t necessarily saying that grad school, a first job, or the grades to get them are the most important things in life. This year-end time management exercise does create an opportunity to ask what is<\/em> at the top of that list of important things? The choices we try to juggle at the year-end might bring opportunities to reflect more deeply. Might there be discoveries these days about what\u2019s most important that we can take with us into the summer and beyond?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his way to the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount<\/a>, Jesus makes this prioritizing declaration: “Seek first [your heavenly Father’s] kingdom and his righteousness and all of these things shall be added to you.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This statement about priorities summarizes Jesus\u2019 teaching on the cure for anxiety where he calls our attention to the way God, through creation, provides for all of the needs of creation \u2013 such as the birds and flowers<\/a>. But what does it mean to be seeking<\/em> the kingdom of God? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word \u201ckingdom\u201d is problematic for us. In the current political climate, many are adamant that\u00a0we have \u201cno kings.\u201d But more troublesome is that we are inclined to associate the word with geography \u2013 in this case, the location of heaven. So \u201cseeking the kingdom of God\u201d gets narrowed to doing or believing the things necessary to attain a place in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A better translation for \u201ckingdom of God\u201d is \u201cthe rule and reign of God.\u201d This does a better job of conveying two key ideas: divine authority and divine action. Easter time helps us remember that God’s authority is grounded not only in our experience of creation, but more importantly, in Jesus\u2019 victory over death. Jesus\u2019 action is that of the one who defeats death through his own humble obedience. So seeking the rule and reign of God can be thought of as attending to Jesus\u2019 obedience and resurrection as the ultimate expression of divine authority as the foundational reality of our lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time management guru Stephen Covey wrote that the most important thing is to \u201ckeep the main thing the main thing.\u201d What will the days of your life look like if the main thing is Jesus\u2019 resurrection and the power of life over death that it brings? How might we measure our days differently if these days are the beginning days of eternity? How might our lives be freed if we know our future is assured?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like the graduate with the guaranteed first job, only better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pr. Jim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Katherine Museu<\/a>s<\/em> and Rev. Dr. James A. Wetzstein<\/a> serve as university pastors at the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University and take turns with the Institute for Leadership and Service staff writing weekly devotions<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the semester drew to a close and I watched as senioritis, which has been incubating for weeks, manifested itself full-blown, I listened in as students around me discussed a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":12456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[14,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-csl-newsletter-devotionals","category-james-a-wetzstein"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Elizabeth Searle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/author\/esearle1\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/05\/Newsletter-Devotional-Graphics-2025-2026-11-300x169.webp","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/a>","James A. Wetzstein<\/a>"],"unlinked":["CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/span>","James A. Wetzstein<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 6 months ago","modified":"Updated 6 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on May 4, 2026","modified":"Updated on May 6, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on May 4, 2026 4:09 pm","modified":"Updated on May 6, 2026 4:35 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12454"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12464,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12454\/revisions\/12464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}